


Crisis Text Line

by cheekaspbrak



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: M/M, Panic Attack, cursing, slight homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 21:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20141905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheekaspbrak/pseuds/cheekaspbrak
Summary: Eddie has a panic attack and turns to a chat line for anxiety. He’s talked to people on here before, but this time he finds out he actually knows the person he’s talking to.





	Crisis Text Line

Eddie is losing control of his breathing just as he stumbles through the door of his home. He looks around wildly. He calls out for his mother but she doesn’t answer, thank god. He didn’t need her trying to cram pills down his throat right now.

His legs start to feel like jelly, and he tries to make it to the couch but he collapses on his knees just in front of the coffee table. He rakes his hands through his hair and starts sobbing. _So fucking stupid_, he thinks. He searches for his inhaler in his back, shoving it in his mouth and pushing down on the top. He waits, on all fours in his living room, but nothing changes. He cries more, and pushes it into his mouth again. Nothing.

On the rare occasion his inhaler- _cough_ placebo _cough_\- didn’t work, he had a backup plan. He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and pulls up the Anxiety Hotline Number he had saved in his phone. The only sound in the room was his ragged breathing and the tapping of his keys on the phone as he sends out a text.

**Crisis Text Line:** _Hi! This is the Maine Crisis Text Line. You’re not alone. Someone will be with you shortly._

Eddie tries to push away the anxiety as he waits but it just burns stronger inside him. He claws at his polo collar, pulls at his hair, anything to make it _stop_. His phone buzzes again.

**Crisis Text Line:** _hey, this is richie. what’s up?_

He is momentarily distracted by the casual tone of the message. Usually these texts were much more professional with reassuring messages like “I’m here for you”. He doesn’t linger on that for long, though, and starts to type out a response to “richie”.

**Eddie:** _I’m having a panic attack again and I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid it won’t stop._

**Crisis Text Line:** _ok. it might sound difficult to do but just try ur best to breathe slowly. do u know what triggered ur panic attack?_

Eddie briefly wonders why the fuck this guy is using text lingo in what’s supposed to be a therapeutic text line, but his breath hitches when he asks him what triggered his panic attack. He looks at the pastel pink polo shirt he’s wearing, and his cheeks burn hot with shame.

**Eddie:** _I was leaving school and this guy started picking on me for my shirt. Started calling me a fag because it’s pastel._

He types out the text and immediately feels the tiniest bit better. He looks down at the buzzing phone in his hands.

**Crisis Text Line:** _what the fuck?_

**Crisis Text Line:** _that’s so fucked up_

**Crisis Text Line: ** _i want to strangle that guy_

**Crisis Text Line: ** _i probably shouldn’t have said that on a recorded text line_

Eddie blinks. Then he laughs. It sounds strangled coming out of his worn out throat, but he laughs. This guy is actually cursing and threatening to murder someone on a hotline. It barely even registers to him that his breathing has come back to normal while he types his reply.

**Eddie:** _ I know, right? I would’ve strangled him but that’s frowned upon and I don’t wanna get expelled from high school._

**Crisis Text Line:** _So ur in high school? i am too. which high school?_

**Eddie:** _I don’t think you’re supposed to ask personal information._

**Crisis Text Line:** _ im not gonna stalk you, i promise_

**Eddie:** _That’s exactly what a stalker would say_

**Eddie:** _Derry High School_

**Crisis Text Line:** _ur fucking kidding. i go there too!_

Eddie freezes, the grin he didn’t realize was on his face disappearing. He easily puts two and two together and realizes he is talking to Richie _Tozier_. The absolute asshole _Richie Tozier_, who makes awful jokes during class and wears dumb, giant glasses and still thinks _your mom_ jokes are funny.

**Crisis Text Line:** _what’s your name? i might know you_

**Eddie:** _Are you kidding? I don’t want you to know who I am._

**Crisis Text Line: ** _i won’t tell anyone, i just want to know who im gonna be defending when i strangle that asshole_

Eddie finds himself laughing again and he looks up from his phone to make sure nobody else is in the house, still. He pushes his hair away from his face and thinks that he likes this side of Richie Tozier he’s never seen before.

**Crisis Text Line:** _pleeeaaaasseeeeeee_

**Eddie:** _okay fine. My name’s Eddie._

He sucks in a sharp breath and leaves his phone on the floor as he goes to grab a snack from the fridge. His heart is hammering in his chest because he just told Richie, _Richie Tozier_, who he was. He tried not to run back to his phone to see what he said.

**Crisis Text Line:** _holy shit, Eddie Kaspbrak?_

**Crisis Text Line:** _short, cute dude who’s always rolling his eyes at my jokes?_

Eddie allows himself a moment to focus on the word _cute_ before typing out a reply.

**Eddie:** _Richie Tozier, tall asshole who’s always telling fucking awful jokes that make me roll my eyes?_

**Crisis Text Line:** _fuck_

**Crisis Text Line:** _i forgot i told u my name_

He snorts at that, ready to type out a reply when another message comes in.

**Crisis Text Line:** _now u know who’s been flirting with u this whole time_

Flirting…with him? His cheeks are starting to feel numb from all the smiling. He picks up the apple slices he got from his kitchen and takes a bite. Richie must be impatient, because another text shows up.

**Crisis Text Line:** _seriously though, whos ass am i kicking?_

**Eddie:** _Bowers. I don’t think you stand a chance though. You’re about as scary as a puppy dog._

**Crisis Text Line:** _awwww. u think im cute._

**Eddie:** _What? I didn’t say that._

**Crisis Text Line:** _u compared me to a puppy dog. ill do you one better, ur like a bunny rabbit_

**Eddie:** _Fuck off._

**Crisis Text Line:** _thats not very nice to say to your future hero_

**Eddie:** _You’re not actually going to pick a fight with him, are you?_

**Crisis Text Line:** _no, im not crazy. i will make sure to pull an especially evil prank on him though_

**Eddie:** _Can I help?_

**Crisis Text Line:** _totally. but its in our best interests to not discuss our evil plan on here. here’s my actual phone number_

Eddie smiles when the ten digits appear on his screen and he immediately saves them under the name “Puppy Dog”. He shoots a text to Richie who texts back _hey sweet thang_ and Eddie finds himself giggling on his living room floor for hours, planning the best prank ever with his newfound friend, Richie Tozier.


End file.
